Tug of War

I recently found myself in a situation when I received some news I didn’t expect. In the moment I was praying silently in my head, “God, help me”. When the news was delivered, internally I became unglued. I have to admit, I forgot about God and asking Him to help me. I went for the flesh. As the days passed, I was battling with my flesh and the spiritual. I was completely divided. I felt like I was the rope in a tug of war game. The Worldly realm had me and so did the Spiritual. It was in those days that I started thinking about the two Kingdoms. I knew what God was asking of me and for His will to be done but I was also worrying about my ego and what I wanted.

We are in the physical realm. Our place here on Earth. There is also a spiritual realm all around us we cannot see. The two are at war. Every day when we go out into the world to do our “thing” such as work, school, vacation, shop, volunteer, we are entering the battlefield. We encounter situations all day long where we have to make a choice which Kingdom will we be serving. In the Spiritual realm, it would be doing the will of God. In the Earthly Kingdom, we would be serving self. Think about that for a minute.

Knowing that you are about to enter a battlefield, how do you prepare? Do you think men of war roll out of bed and just haphazardly go about the business of battling? I don’t think so and neither should we. Our Commander, King Jesus, has gone before us and knows what lies ahead. He has the battle plan for us to follow. It is critical that we meet with Him daily to get our marching orders. How much time are you investing to hear the battle plan for the day? Don’t think that you can survive the next day’s battle with yesterdays or even last week’s plan. It must be daily. The terrain has changed, the enemy attacks will be different, and some of your fellow soldiers might not be on the field with you this day.

You also need to put on your armor. In Ephesians 6:10-18, it tells us to put on the WHOLE armor of God. Not just a piece here and there, but the whole armor. You have the following:

· The Belt of Truth

· The Breastplate of Righteousness

· The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

· The Shield of Faith

· The Helmet of Salvation

· The Sword of the Spirit

All of this armor is well oiled with prayer. Don’t leave home without it.

Are you making the weekly debriefs a priority in your schedule? That would be your church attendance. This is the chance to meet up with your fellow combat soldiers, get refreshed and filled up to engage in the coming week. We need to rethink how we are interacting with our fellow soldiers. Maybe instead of asking, “how was your vacation” or “Johnny’s game”, we start asking, “what is God teaching you this week”? All to prepare us for our engagement in the Kingdom. We may have some battle wounds and scars but they tell a story. Share your story of victory. We are not fighting FOR victory but FROM victory.

Finally, as believers we need to remember we are all part of the same Kingdom. We need to spur one another on and encourage each other as the battle rages. My battle looks a little different than yours. Share with me your experience, strength and hope. This battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

You are a Daughter of the King and that makes you a Princess! Remember who you are in Christ Jesus. Your Crown may be a little dinged up and crooked, but nonetheless, it is a Crown from the King. Stand firm with sword in hand and live out each day serving our Kingdom and the King of Kings!

Join me next time and let’s take a look at each piece of the Armor of God and what it looks like to apply it in our individual lives.